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Endocrinological Oncology |
Departments of Medicine and Biochemistry, Loma Linda University, and the Mineral Metabolism Unit, Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Administration Medical Center, Loma Linda, California 92357; and the Department of Pharmacology, University of North Carolina (L.M.G.), Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27514
Address all correspondence and requests for reprints to: Dr. K.-H. William Lau, Mineral Metabolism (151), Jerry L. Pettis Memorial Veterans Administration Medical Center, 11201 Benton Street, Loma Linda, California 92357. E-mail: LAUB{at}LLVAMC.VA.GOV
| Abstract |
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| Introduction |
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The molecular mechanism by which fluoride stimulates bone cell proliferation is unknown. Although fluoride at millimolar concentrations is a potent activator of adenylyl cyclase through stimulation of Gs, fluoride at the mitogenic, micromolar concentrations did not have an effect on cellular cAMP production in bone cells (13). Recent evidence suggests that the mitogenic action of fluoride could be mediated through a signal transduction pathway involving tyrosyl phosphorylation (13, 14). Our past work suggests that the osteogenic action of fluoride could be mediated at least in part by increasing the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation of key signaling proteins through inhibition of an osteoblastic fluoride-sensitive phosphotyrosyl phosphatase (PTP) (13). Our hypothesis is supported by several pieces of circumstantial evidence: 1) fluoride at micromolar concentrations specifically inhibited an osteoblastic PTP, and the apparent Ki for fluoride inhibition was within the mitogenic fluoride dose range for bone cells (5, 6, 15); 2) fluoride treatment increased the net protein tyrosyl phosphorylation level in intact bone cells and isolated cell membrane (13); 3) other PTP inhibitors of this fluoride-sensitive PTP, i.e. vanadate and molybdate, also stimulated bone cell proliferation at doses that inhibited this fluoride-sensitive PTP activity (13, 16); 4) treatment with human TE85 osteosarcoma cells with mitogenic doses of fluoride for 24 h significantly increased the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of at least 13 cellular proteins in human bone cells (17); and 5) the apparent molecular masses of some of these proteins were similar to those of some of the known signaling molecules, including mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) (17).
MAPKs consist of a large family of serine/threonine protein kinases that are activated by the dual phosphorylation on both a tyrosine and a threonine residue (18, 19). In mammals, the extracellular signal-regulated kinase (ERK) subgroup of MAPK has been examined in detail. They are found to be rapidly phosphorylated and activated in response to mitogenic and differentiating stimuli in many different cell types (20, 21, 22, 23, 24). Two major isoforms, p44mapk (or ERK1) and p42mapk (or ERK2), are ubiquitously expressed in mammalian species and are highly conserved across species (25, 26). Although the physiological role of each MAPK (or ERK) has not been established, MAPKs are thought to play a pivotal role in integrating and transducing extracellular signals required for growth and differentiation (18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24). Accordingly, we postulate that the mitogenic action of fluoride may involve an increase in the tyrosyl phosphorylation and the corresponding activation of one or both ERK/MAPKs in human bone cells.
In this study, we examined whether fluoride at mitogenic, micromolar doses would increase the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level and the specific activity of ERK/MAPKs in human bone cells. Human osteoblast-like TE85 osteosarcoma cells were chosen for these studies because previous studies demonstrated that these cells reproducibly responded to the mitogenic action of fluoride in vitro (27). In addition, as an indirect test of whether the effect of fluoride on tyrosyl phosphorylation would be consistent with an inhibition of PTP, we compared the time-dependent effect of fluoride on MAPK phosphorylation to that of orthovanadate, which is a known PTP inhibitor (28) and a bone cell mitogen (16).
| Materials and Methods |
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Tissue culture supplies were obtained from Falcon (Oxnard, CA).
DMEM, bovine calf serum, and trypsin were purchased from Life
Technologies (Grand Island, NY). BSA (fraction V, RIA grade) was
purchased from U.S. Biochemical Corp. (Cleveland, OH). Ammonium
persulfate, and bromophenol blue were products of ICN Biomedicals
(Costa Mesa, CA). [
-32P]ATP (7000 Ci/mol) was obtained
from DuPont-New England Nuclear (Boston, MA). Polyclonal
antiphosphotyrosine (anti-PY) antibody was purchased from Promega (Los
Angeles, CA). Monoclonal anti-pan ERK antibody was a product of
Transduction Laboratories (Lexington, KY). Enhanced chemiluminescence
(ECL) detection system was obtained from Amersham Corp.
(Arlington Heights, IL). Phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride, leupeptin,
aprotonin, pepstatin, NaF, calmidizolium, glycine,
ethyleneglycol-bis-(ß-aminoethyl
ether)-N,N,N',N'-tetraacetic
acid (EGTA), ethylenediamine tetraacetate (EDTA), dithiothreitol (DTT),
HEPES, Nonidet P-40, Tris, Triton X-100, MgCl2,
Folin-Ciocalteus phenol reagent, NaVO4, sodium molybdate,
para-nitrophenyl phosphate, ß-glycerophosphate, and myelin
basic protein (MBP) were products of Sigma Chemical Co. (St. Louis,
MO). SDS was from National Diagnostics (Atlanta, GA). Prestained
molecular size protein standards were obtained from Bio-Rad
Laboratories (Hercules, CA). The Mono Q anion exchange column was
obtained from Pharmacia LKB Biotechnology (Uppsala, Sweden). Other
reagents were of reagent grade and were purchased from Fisher Chemical
Co. (Los Angeles, CA) or Sigma Chemical Co.
Cell cultures
Human TE85 osteosarcoma cells were originally obtained from Dr. J. Fogh of Sloan-Kettering Institute (New York, NY). These cells exhibit osteoblastic characteristics, e.g. responding to PTH by increasing cAMP production (29) and to 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D3 by increasing the syntheses of collagen and the osteoblast-specific protein, osteocalcin (30). Normal human skin fibroblasts were prepared from a foreskin sample by collagenase digestion (6). Both human cell lines were maintained in DMEM supplemented with 10% bovine serum. Cells at passages 27 were used in this study.
[3H]Thymidine incorporation assay
Human TE85 cells or foreskin fibroblasts were seeded at 2000 cells/cm2 in 24-well dishes in DMEM supplemented with 10% bovine calf serum for 24 h. The cells were rinsed once with DMEM and serum deprived in DMEM supplemented with 0.1% BSA for 1624 h before the addition of effectors. Effectors were diluted in DMEM supplemented with 0.1% BSA. Growth-arrested (i.e. serum deprived) cells were treated with effectors (e.g. 0500 µmol/L NaF or 05 µmol/L NaVO4) or corresponding vehicle control for 24 h. DNA synthesis, an index for cell proliferation, was measured by stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation (1.5 µCi/well) during the final 2 h of incubation (31). Although this assay does not measure cell proliferation directly, we have previously shown that stimulation of [3H]thymidine incorporation reflected an increase in bone cell number (32). This assumption was supported by the finding that fluoride and FBS (1%) stimulated [3H]thymidine incorporation in bone cells with a corresponding increase in cell number (13).
Determination of steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of cellular proteins
TE85 cells were plated in DMEM supplemented with 10% bovine calf serum at a density of 2500 cells/cm2 in 100-mm culture dishes. After plating for 2 days, the cells were rinsed with fresh DMEM and cultured in DMEM containing 0.05% bovine calf serum for 1824 h before the addition of effectors.
To measure the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of intracellular proteins, the cells were rinsed once with DMEM and incubated with fresh DMEM for 1 h. NaF (at the indicated doses) or the vehicle control (DMEM supplemented with 0.1% BSA) was added, and the cells were incubated for 3 h at 37 C. The cells were then washed twice with ice-cold phosphate-buffered saline containing 1 mmol/L NaVO4 and lysed with a lysis buffer containing 50 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 0.1% Triton X-100, 137 mmol/L NaCl, 2 mmol/L EDTA, 1 mmol/L NaVO4, 1 mmol/L phenylmethylsulfonylfluoride, 10 µg/mL leupeptin, and 10 µg/mL aprotinin. The protein concentration in each lysate, after trichloroacetic acid precipitation, was determined according to the method of Lowry et al. (33). Equal amounts of cellular proteins from each treatment group were separated on a 10% SDS-PAGE column, and the phosphotyrosyl proteins were identified with Western blots using the anti-PY antibody followed by the ECL detection assay. The relative density of the cellular protein bands with an apparent molecular mass similar to that of MAPK (i.e. 4244 kDa) was measured by scanning laser densitometry, and the results were reported as a percentage of corresponding vehicle-treated control value.
Determination of steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of MAPK
To measure the level of tyrosyl-phosphorylated MAPKs, TE85 cells were treated with the indicated concentration of effectors for the indicated period of time as described above. After treatment, cells were lysed, and equal amounts of cellular proteins were immunoprecipitated with the anti-PY antibody (diluted 1:200). The immunoprecipitation procedure was adapted from that described by Argetsinger et al. (34). The immune complexes were subjected to SDS-PAGE followed by Western analysis using the anti-pan ERK (MAPK) antibody (1:1000 dilution). The anti-pan ERK recognizes all members of the ERK subset of the MAPKs. The MAPKs were visualized with the ECL detection system. The relative level of the tyrosyl-phosphorylated MAPKs was quantified by scanning laser densitometry. Because immunoprecipitation should isolate only the tyrosyl-phosphorylated MAPK species, and because the MAPKs each contain only a single tyrosyl phosphorylation site, this assay approach should allow measurements of the relative steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of MAPKs.
Measurement of the MAPK protein level
The effector-treated or vehicle-treated cells were lysed as described above. Equal amounts of cellular protein from each treatment group were immunoprecipitated using the anti-pan ERK antibody (1:125 dilution). The immune complexes were resolved by SDS-PAGE, the MAPK/ERKs were identified by Western analysis with the anti-pan ERK antibody (1:1000 dilution) and the ECL detection system, and the MAPK/ERK protein level was quantitated with scanning laser densitometry.
Assay for p44mapk and p42mapk specific activities using MBP as the substrate
The vehicle- and effector-treated cells were lysed with an
extraction buffer [50 mmol/L Tris-HCl (pH 7.5), 1% Nonidet P-40, 150
mmol/L NaCl, 5 mmol/L EDTA, 0.2 mmol/L NaVO4, 10
mmol/L NaF, 1 mmol/L sodium molybdate, 0.5 µg/mL leupeptin, 10
µg/mL aprotinin, and 0.7 µg/mL pepstatin]. The cell lysate, after
being filtered through a 0.2-µm filter, was subjected to fast protein
liquid chromatography (FPLC) separation on a Mono Q column. The column
was first washed with 5 mL of a buffer containing 20 mmol/L HEPES (pH
7.4), 20 mmol/L ß-glycerophosphate, 2 mmol/L DTT, 2 mmol/L EDTA, and
2 mmol/L EGTA, then eluted with a 25-mL linear gradient of 00.5 mol/L
NaCl in the same buffer at a flow rate of 1 mL/min. MAPK activity in
each fraction (1 mL) was assayed with MBP as previously described (35).
Briefly, 12.5-µL aliquots of each fraction were incubated with MBP
(0.3 mg/mL) for 20 min at 30 C in a final volume of 25 µL containing
25 mmol/L ß-glycerophosphate (pH 7.3), 1.25 mmol/L EGTA, 1 mmol/L
DTT, 10 mmol/L MgCl2, 0.15 mmol/L NaVO4, 2
µmol/L protein kinase inhibitor peptide, 10 µmol/L calmidizolium, 1
mg/mL BSA, and 100 µmol/L [
-32P]ATP (SA, 2000
cpm/pmol). The reaction was terminated by spotting 20 µL of the
reaction mixture onto a 2 x 2-cm Whatman P-81 paper square
(Whatman, Clifton, NJ). The unbound radioactivity was removed by
extensive washing with 150 mmol/L phosphoric acid, followed by a final
wash with absolute ethanol. The air-dried paper squares were counted in
a liquid scintillation counter. The elution profile of
p42mapk and p44mapk was confirmed by
immunoblotting the MAPK isoforms with the anti-pan ERK antibody. The
p42mapk and p44mapk peaks were then
individually pooled, and the pooled fractions were reassayed for total
p42mapk and p44mapk activities. The protein
content in each fraction was determined by the Folin-Lowry protein
assay (33). The p42mapk and p44mapk activities
were normalized against the protein content.
In-gel MBP kinase assay
The in-gel MBP kinase assay, modified from those of Kameshita
and Fujiawa (36) and Gotoh et al. (37), was used to confirm
the effects of fluoride on MAPK activity. Briefly, the fluoride- or
vehicle-treated TE85 cells were lysed with the extraction buffer as
described above. Equal amounts (10 µg) of cellular protein (without
boiling the sample before SDS-PAGE) were separated on a 10% SDS-PAGE
containing 0.5 mg/mL MBP. The gel was washed twice with 50 mmol/L
Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, and 20% 2-propanol for 30 min each time with
vigorous shaking at room temperature to remove SDS, and then washed
once with buffer A (50 mmol/L Tris-HCl, pH 8.0, and 5 mmol/L
ß-mercaptoethanol) for 1 h with vigorous shaking at room
temperature to remove 2-propanol. The proteins in the gel were
denatured by washing the gel twice (30 min each) with buffer A
containing 6 mol/L guanidine HCl at room temperature and renatured in
buffer A with 0.04% Tween-40 with vigorous shaking for 1624 h at 4 C
with at least five changes of buffer. The in-gel phosphorylation
reaction was carried out at room temperature by incubating the gel in a
reaction mixture consisting of 40 mmol/L HEPES (pH 8.0), 2 mmol/L DTT,
0.1 mmol/L EGTA, 5 mmol/L MgCl2, 25 µmol/L ATP, and 250
µCi [
-32P]ATP for 1 h with vigorous shaking.
The reaction was terminated by washing the gel 10 times with 5%
trichloroacetic acid and 1% sodium pyrophosphate for 2 h each
time until the solution did not contain a significant amount of
radioactivity. The resulting gel was dried and subjected to
autoradiography with an intensifier at -70 C overnight. The relative
phosphorylation level was determined with a scanning laser
densitometry.
Statistical analysis
The statistical significance of the differences in [3H]thymidine incorporation and MAPK specific activity between groups was analyzed by two-tailed Students t test and ANOVA. The difference was considered significant when P < 0.05.
| Results |
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Figure 1
shows that fluoride in the micromolar
range significantly and reproducibly stimulated
[3H]thymidine incorporation by 2060% above the
control value in a dose-dependent, biphasic manner with the optimal
mitogenic dose of approximately 100 µmol/L. These findings confirm
previous findings (27, 29, 30) that fluoride is mitogenic to human TE85
osteosarcoma cells.
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Western immunoblot analysis with a commercial anti-PY polyclonal
antibody showed that treatment of TE85 cells with 0500 µmol/L
fluoride for 3 h increased the steady state tyrosyl
phosphorylation level of several cellular proteins; one of which had an
apparent molecular mass of 44 kDa (Fig. 2
). Scanning
laser densitometric measurements of the 44-kDa protein indicated that
fluoride at the effective doses (i.e. between 50200
µmol/L) reproducibly increased the steady state tyrosyl
phosphorylation level of the 44-kDa protein. The stimulatory effect was
dose dependent, with the maximal stimulation seen at approximately 100
µmol/L fluoride, which was also the optimal dose that stimulated TE85
cell proliferation (Fig. 1
).
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To test whether the p44 protein was a MAPK, an anti-pan ERK
antibody was used in the Western blot analysis after
immunoprecipitation with the anti-PY antibody to identify the
tyrosyl-phosphorylated MAPKs. The 44-kDa protein reacted strongly with
the anti-pan ERK antibody, indicating that the 44-kDa protein was the
p44mapk. Figure 3
shows that treatment
of TE85 cells with 100 µmol/L fluoride caused a time-dependent
increase in the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of
p44mapk. In this experiment, the steady state tyrosyl
phosphorylation of p44mapk was increased after 13 h of
fluoride treatment. The increase was maximally induced by 4- to 13-fold
after 12 h of fluoride treatment. The time-dependent stimulation
of tyrosyl phosphorylation of p44mapk was highly
reproducible (i.e. seen in each of the three repeat
experiments), but the time required for the maximal stimulation varied
from experiment to experiment (i.e. from 312 h of fluoride
treatment). The fluoride-induced increase was sustained: a 29 fold
increase in the tyrosyl phosphorylation level of p44mapk
was detectable even after 12 h of fluoride treatment. In contrast,
there was no detectable amount of tyrosyl-phosphorylated
p42mapk in TE85 cells, and the fluoride treatment had no
notable effect on the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of
p42mapk.
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Fluoride at the test doses had no significant stimulatory effect on the
steady state cellular level of p44mapk protein throughout
the 12-h treatment period (Fig. 4
). [Fluoride at these
doses under the same conditions also did not significantly affect the
cellular level of p42mapk (data not shown).] These
findings indicate that the increase in the steady state tyrosyl
phosphorylation level of p44mapk was probably not the
result of an increased de novo synthesis of
p44mapk.
|
Figure 5
reveals that 1-h treatment with
fluoride (10500 µmol/L) increased the steady state tyrosyl
phosphorylation level of p44mapk (2- to 3-fold), but
not that of p42mapk. The stimulation was dose dependent and
biphasic, with a maximal stimulatory dose of 100200 µmol/L
fluoride, similar to that stimulated the cell proliferation (Fig. 1
).
The dose-dependent stimulatory effect of fluoride on TE85 cells was
reproducible and was seen in all three repeat experiments.
|
Previous studies (5, 6, 13) indicated that the mitogenic
action of micromolar concentrations of fluoride appeared to be specific
for bone cells and did not stimulate the proliferation of skin
fibroblasts. Thus, we investigated whether the stimulatory effects of
the same test doses (10500 µmol/L) of fluoride would increase
steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of MAPK in normal human
foreskin fibroblasts, which are fluoride nonresponsive cells. Figure 6A
shows that fluoride at micromolar (10500 µmol/L)
doses had no significant stimulatory effect on
[3H]thymidine incorporation into the DNA of human skin
fibroblasts. Similar to the lack of mitogenic activity, treatment of
human foreskin fibroblasts with 100 µmol/L fluoride for 012 h also
did not lead to any detectable change in either p44mapk or
p42mapk isoenzymes (Fig. 6B
). Likewise, incubation with the
test dose (10500 µmol/L) of fluoride did not show a dose-dependent
effect on the tyrosyl phosphorylation of either p44mapk or
p42mapk in human foreskin fibroblasts (Fig. 6B
).
|
Tyrosyl phosphorylation of MAPK is required for the
activation of its kinase activity. Therefore, the effects of mitogenic
doses of fluoride on the specific activities of MAPKs in TE85 cells
were measured. The FPLC Mono Q anion exchange chromatography was
employed to separate the major MAPKs isoenzymes for analysis. Figure 7
shows that this chromatographic approach separated the
bound MAPKs into two major peaks of MBP kinase activity. Immunoblotting
analysis revealed that the first peak was predominately
p42mapk, whereas the second peak was predominately
p44mapk (Fig. 7
, inset). Figure 8
indicates that fluoride at 100 µmol/L significantly stimulated the
specific activity of p44mapk, without an effect on the
specific activity of p42mapk. The specific activity was
maximally induced (2- to 3-fold) after 3 h of fluoride treatment
and was sustained even after 10 h of fluoride incubation.
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To indirectly test the hypothesis that the effect of fluoride on the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of p44mapk is mediated by an inhibition of the fluoride-sensitive PTP in osteoblasts, we determined the time-dependent effect of a known PTP inhibitor and bone cell mitogen, NaVO4, on the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of p44mapk in TE85 cells. We reasoned that if fluoride acts to increase the phosphorylation level of p44mapk by inhibition of the dephosphorylation, the time course of fluoride on the steady state p44mapk tyrosyl phosphorylation would be similar to that of NaVO4 at the mitogenic doses.
Consistent with our previous findings (13, 16), NaVO4
significantly (P < 0.01) stimulated
[3H]thymidine incorporation (i.e. 2060%
above the control value) in human TE85 osteosarcoma cells, with the
optimal dose being between 12 µmol/L (data not shown). Figure 11
shows the time-dependent effect of 1 µmol/L
NaVO4 on the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of
the MAPKs. An increase in the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation of
p44mapk was first detected after 30 min of vanadate
treatment. Like fluoride, this dose of NaVO4 had no
detectable effect on the p42mapk tyrosyl phosphorylation
level. The effect of fluoride on the p44mapk tyrosyl
phosphorylation level was time dependent, and the maximal increase (up
to 14-fold) was observed between 612 h of the treatment. Accordingly,
similar to the effect of fluoride, a mitogenic dose of
NaVO4 induced a sustained stimulation on
p44mapk tyrosyl phosphorylation.
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| Discussion |
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Inasmuch as the physiological significance of these findings remains unclear, there is a large body of evidence supporting a key role for MAPK activation in the cell proliferation process. The most compelling of the evidence is that antisense messenger ribonucleic acid of p44mapk and p42mapk or overexpression of the p44mapk mutants in fibroblasts completely blocked the growth factor-mediated cell proliferation (38). Thus, the finding that the fluoride-mediated stimulation of human bone cell proliferation and the fluoride-dependent activation of p44mapk exhibited similar dose-dependent curves with the same optimal dose raises an interesting possibility that the fluoride-dependent activation of p44mapk might be associated with the fluoride-mediated stimulation of human bone cell proliferation. Two pieces of circumstantial evidence in this study support this speculation: 1) orthovanadate, a stimulator of human bone cell proliferation, also increased the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of p44mapk with a dose-dependent curve similar to that of stimulation of human bone cell proliferation; and 2) fluoride at the same micromolar doses had no stimulatory effect on the proliferation or the tyrosyl phosphorylation level of MAPKs in normal human foreskin fibroblasts, which are fluoride nonresponsive cells (5, 6, 13). Accordingly, we should not overlook the possibility that the activation of p44mapk may play an essential role in the stimulation of bone cell proliferation by fluoride or vanadate.
It is intriguing that the stimulatory effect of fluoride and orthovanadate appears to be specific for p44mapk, as neither effector has a stimulatory effect on p42mapk (ERK2). However, it should be noted that different signal transduction pathways may use different MAPK isoenzymes. For example, the activation of protein kinase C by vasopressin and phorbol 12-myristate 13-acetate involved the selective activation of p42mapk in vascular smooth muscle cells (39), and insulin exerted its effect in the skeletal muscle by sequential activation of p44mapk and p42mapk (40). It has also been reported that different transcription factors are phosphorylated and activated by p42mapk and p44mapk, respectively (41). Accordingly, it can be speculated that fluoride acts to stimulate bone cell proliferation by the selective activation of the signal transduction pathway(s) that involves p44mapk as opposed to those mediated by p42mapk.
An important finding of this study is that the fluoride-induced increases in the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation and activity of p44mapk are sustained in nature (i.e. even after 12 h of incubation). The time course of the fluoride-mediated stimulation is unique, in that treatment of mammalian cells with polypeptide growth factors, such as insulin in adipocytes (20, 42) and epidermal growth factor in PC12 cells (43) and bone cells (17) most often led to a rapid and transient activation of MAPK, which usually peaked 210 min after the treatment. Thus, these findings suggest that fluoride acts through a different mechanism than the polypeptide growth factors to increase the level of tyrosyl phosphorylation and the activity of the MAPKs.
The unique nature of the sustained stimulation of p44mapk phosphorylation and activity may be relevant to the molecular mechanism by which fluoride stimulates p44mapk activity. MAPKs are phosphorylated and activated by the MAPK/ERK kinases (MEKs) (44, 45) and dephosphorylated (and inactivated) by a unique family of dual specificity phosphatases, MAPK phosphatases or MKPs (46). An increase in the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation of p44mapk could be mediated by 1) activation of MEKs, 2) inhibition of MKPs, or 3) both. However, increases in protein tyrosyl kinase activities are frequently associated with the corresponding increases in PTP activities to counter the actions of the kinases (47, 48). Thus, if the increase in the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level was mediated by a stimulation of kinase activity, the increase would be transient, as reported with polypeptide growth factors (17, 20, 42, 43). Conversely, if the increase was caused by an inhibition of the dephosphorylation, the effect on the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level would be expected to be sustained, as the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level would remain elevated as long as the PTP inhibitor was present. Accordingly, the sustained nature of the fluoride effect on the tyrosyl phosphorylation level and the activation of p44mapk is compatible with the hypothesis that fluoride acts to increase p44mapk activity via inhibition of a fluoride-sensitive PTP (13). The finding that orthovanadate, a known PTP inhibitor, also induced a sustained increase in the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of p44mapk in a manner similar to that of fluoride is entirely consistent with this interpretation. Further supporting evidence is the observation that the inhibition of MKP-1 synthesis with cycloheximide or the expression of an inactive MKP-1 mutant in COS cells led to sustained phosphorylation and activation of MAPK (46).
There is now ample evidence that MKPs may play an important regulatory role in controlling MAPK activities (46). Therefore, it is foreseeable that fluoride could stimulate p44mapk activity through an inhibition of a fluoride-sensitive MKP. Although none of the currently known MKP isoenzymes appears to be inhibited by micromolar concentrations of fluoride, one cannot completely rule out the possibility that there might exist a yet to be identified fluoride-sensitive MKP to dephosphorylate and inactivate the p44mapk in bone cells, in light of the fact that the MAPK, MEK, and MKP each exist as a large family of multigene enzymes (21, 49, 50). In this regard, we have previously identified a fluoride-sensitive PTP in osteoblasts (51, 52). Notwithstanding, we do not yet have evidence that this fluoride-sensitive PTP is a MKP, the presence of a fluoride-sensitive PTP in osteoblasts raises the exciting possibility that there may be a fluoride-sensitive MKP in osteoblasts. Alternatively, it is possible that the fluoride-sensitive PTP may act to inhibit the dephosphorylation of upstream regulators of the p44mapk, e.g. Raf, shc, rasGAP, etc., and that activation of p44mapk is an indirect result of the inhibition of dephosphorylation (and activation) of upstream activators. In support of this concept, we have recently obtained preliminary evidence that mitogenic doses of fluoride also increased the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level of Raf-1 and rasGAP in TE85 cells in a sustained manner similar to that seen with p44mapk (53).
It has previously been reported that the combination of millimolar concentrations of fluoride and micromolar doses of aluminum ion was able to activate p42mapk in BC3H1 myocytes and 3T3-L1 fibroblasts through activation of a Gs protein (54). Recent studies from Dr. Bonjours laboratory (55, 56), with the combination of 10 µmol/L aluminum ion and 1 mmol/L NaF as the effector, raised the possibility that the aluminum fluoride-mediated stimulation of the proliferation of mouse MC3T3-E1 osteoblast-like cells may involve members of the Gi protein family. Although activators of certain G proteins have been shown to activate the MAPK pathway (57, 58), and we cannot rule out the possible involvement of a G protein in the molecular mechanism of fluoride, we do not favor the hypothesis that the micromolar doses of fluoride act to increase human bone cell proliferation (and to activate p44mapk) through a G protein-dependent mechanism similar to that of the fluoroaluminate ion for the following reasons. 1) The doses necessary to stimulate human bone cell proliferation and p44mapk are very low (i.e. 10200 µmol/L), whereas the doses required to activate Gs protein were at least 1000-fold higher (i.e. at millimolar level). 2) We have previously reported that fluoride acts through a different mechanism than aluminum ion to stimulate human bone cell proliferation (29). 3) Although the fluoroaluminate ion is a potent activator of adenylate cyclase through the activation of Gs in many cells, including human TE85 cells (unpublished observations), the mitogenic doses (i.e. 10200 µmol/L) of fluoride have been shown to have no significant effect on cAMP production in bone cells (13, 55). 4) Activation of cAMP production (e.g. treatment with cholera toxin) or addition of dibutyryl cAMP to human bone cells would generally lead to an inhibition of bone cell proliferation (59, 60). 5) We recently obtained preliminary evidence that although pertussis toxin abolishes the mitogenic actions and effects on tyrosyl phosphorylation of both NaF and NaVO4 on human bone cells, this toxin has no effect on AlF4--associated bone cell proliferation and tyrosyl phosphorylation (60).
In conclusion, we have demonstrated that micromolar doses of fluoride stimulated human bone cell proliferation and the steady state tyrosyl phosphorylation level and the specific activity of p44mapk, presumably via inhibition of the dephosphorylation reaction in human TE85 osteosarcoma cells. These findings extend our previous model (13) and provide important insights into the molecular mechanism by which fluoride stimulates osteoblast proliferation and differentiation. Accordingly, these findings form important ground work for our continuing efforts in searching for the mechanism of the osteogenic action of fluoride.
| Acknowledgments |
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| Footnotes |
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Received October 23, 1996.
Revised December 27, 1996.
Accepted January 7, 1997.
| References |
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P. A. Hulley, F. Gordon, and F. S. Hough Inhibition of Mitogen-Activated Protein Kinase Activity and Proliferation of an Early Osteoblast Cell Line (MBA 15.4) by Dexamethasone: Role of Protein Phosphatases Endocrinology, May 1, 1998; 139(5): 2423 - 2431. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF] |
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